Written Across an Archival Sky
by concretebrush
Summary: AU set in the Pacific Rim universe with no Pacific Rim characters. Ariadne/Robert Fischer. Ariadne finds that she's drift compatible with Robert Fischer. They are needed to save the world from a slow death by Kaiju. Problem? Ariadne is a reformed thief running from her past, one which involved stealing from Robert. Oops. Rating will increase.


AN: Well, I'm starting a multi-chapter fic! Wish me luck. This is an Ariadne/Robert Fischer fic set in the Pacific Rim universe (so basically it's an AU) but without any Pacific Rim characters. Enjoy!

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"You can't just draft people into piloting metal deathtraps. That's ridiculous, and probably some sort of human right's violation!"

I cradle the phone to my ear and continue scribbling anxiously. I can hear that Eames is unimpressed.

"Honey, the world is about to end. This is how war's always been done. And I don't think human rights is the number one priority right now."

"Well it should be!"

He sighs, "Look, I have to meet Arthur in a few. You're trying for the straight and narrow, right? Well start by following the orders the government gives you, yeah?"

I grumble noncommittally and hang up.

The minute I step inside, I have to fight an overwhelming urge to run back out. The bunker-like Jaeger program headquarter is everything a smart thief has learned to avoid. Too many open spaces, not enough discreet exits, and brightly lit from all directions. I groan. It looks like Grand Central Station did the last time I was there with my parents. The crowds of people are power walking as if they are the only ones between the world and imminent disaster...which I suppose these people are. But still. Why did I want to reform myself again?

"Hello, are you a recruit?" A polite voice comes from over my shoulder.

I whirl around to face a sandy-haired, tired-looking man. If he was a few years younger and smiling, I think, he could be very handsome.

"I'm Cobb. I'll be overseeing the drift compatibility tests. Please follow me."

"Okay. Um, should I leave my suitcase here? The email said to bring enough clothing for a week."

"Ah...yes. A moment, please," he pauses and looks around. "Nash!"

A man who resembles a rat scurries over.

"Please take this young lady's suitcase to the recruit rooms," and with a little wave of his hand, Cobb turns back to me and nods.

He strides through the metal clad tunnels with a purpose that I envy. He shows me the dining hall and a door that has large red letters spelling 'BIOHAZARD' jaggedly painted on.

"Don't enter here without an escort," he advises.

After a few more doors and key swipes ( I hope I get a keycard soon, I feel like such a prisoner), we end up in what seems to be an airport hangar. The roof is probably four times the height of Arthur's house. But that's not the most striking part. That would be the forty feet tall contraptions of metal and death.

There are five Jaegers currently frozen in heroic poses in the hangar. People swarm over them like ants, riding up and down on little lifts. It's all very impressive.

I want to go home.

"So the compatibility tests will begin tomorrow at eight."

Cobb says to me mildly, "Please do not be late. I don't particularly like tardiness."

I nod agreeably and wander in the direction of the rooms he showed me earlier.

Tomorrow's going to be a long day.

The dining hall is teeming with people. The breakfast line is about three hundred people too long for me, and I haven't even had my requisite cup of coffee yet.

I stumble about blearily. The bed was an army cot. Not conducive to a good night's sleep. At least the bathrooms were clean, if a bit spartan.

I almost bump into an Egyptian man on my zombie quest for coffee.

"Whoa, sorry. I'm still kinda asleep."

"Don't worry, the first day is always hard."

I blink up at his face. He has kind eyes and a thick black beard.

"Yusuf," he sticks his hand out for me to shake.

"Ariadne."

We shake hands and end up sitting together for breakfast.

He tells me that he's half the science team behind the Jaeger initiative. His partner, Mal is still stuck in an experiment. He pauses for a moment and the next thing he says is, "You're wearing that?"

I look down at my skinny jeans and sweater.

"Um, yes? It's a bit chilly out."

He looks disapprovingly at my choice of footwear too.

Hey, those boots have gotten me through some tough times okay, don't need to judge.

"You should change into something easier to move in."

I debate for a moment and then, "Okay, Yusuf. There's something you should know. I'm actually trying to fail out of the Jaeger program."

He lifts his eyebrows, so I keep going.

"Thing is, I don't want to be here, but the new draft thing they've implemented forced my hand, and here I am. If I just fail the physical I'll be outta here in no time."

He shifts in his seat. "Well...it's not just the physical."

I stare at him.

"Drift compatibility is the main thing they're looking for right now. If you fail the physical but are still drift compatible, they're going to keep you."

My stare has become one of horror.

I hiss, "So I have no control over this at all?"

He shakes his head sadly, "None, but if it makes you feel better, most people aren't drift compatible with strangers, and you didn't come here with a family member right?"

I shake my head mutely.

"Well," he smiles, "you'll probably be fine."

"Okay, good. As long as I'm back home by tomorrow."

Famous last words.

After the breakfast of bagels and more bagels, the new recruits were all herded into a small cube of a room, with hard-backed metal chairs standing up in rows.

Cobb came to the podium and adjusted the microphone.

"Welcome, new recruits. Today you will start your drift compatibility tests. We will start by sorting you loosely based on the email survey you filled out. If I call your name please meet in the back with Officer Perry."

He rattled off a list of people whose names I didn't recognize and then "Ariadne" caught my ear and I got up and filed into the line in front of straight-backed Officer Perry.

He led us into an adjacent room where you gave us further instructions.

"You all will have to do some physical tests first, and then all of you will be paired up with someone still in the room you just exited and that will be testing round one. I will give each of you a number and when I call it, please just step into the training room," he gestured at another door. So many doors in this place.

"Any questions?"

I didn't have any questions, as distracted as I was by his red hair. It was a blood orange color. Did he dye it?

He made his rounds and walked over to me.

"Ariadne," I say.

"Number 12."

I nod in acquiescence and he steps away.

I guess they must have a bunch of people going at once because not five minutes later I was called in.

A kindly woman in a nurse's uniform waved me over.

I did some regulation check up stuff, and then went over to the next station.

A drill sergeant of some kind was yelling at people on the floor. He had a whistle hanging around his neck and the camouflage suit you so often see in movies.

He barked at the people on the floor to go through the door behind him.

"Okay, all of you we will start with pushups. Give me twenty."

By five my arms were burning. I swallowed a smile. No way they'll be keeping me.

At twelve the shaking in my arms forced me to give up. He looked over at me with a frown but kept quiet until everyone else finished.

"Now curl-ups. Fifty."

Again, I couldn't quite get there. I've stopped almost all my training since I decided to ditch the thief life. Running was the only thing I was better at, but in the skinny jeans and boots, I ran a much slower two hundred meter sprint.

After a few more pointless exercises, he waved us through the door, but not before giving me another disgusted look.

Sweat is making my clothing stick to me uncomfortably but once I got through the doorway, the blast of air conditioning instantly cooled me down.

I still wasn't a happy camper though.

This next room was filled wall to wall with little cubicles. Each pair was facing each other in long rows.

Cobb,standing by the front of the room, sees me, "Ah, Ariadne, please go to cubicle four. and take a seat."

I find the small number written on a piece of paper taped to the edge of the table and sit down. There's a computer screen in front of me and a wooden panel preventing me from seeing the person who would be sitting across from me.

I sit for a few more moments wondering if I should be getting instructions when the computer suddenly powers up.

Words march across the screen in orderly lines.

"Welcome. Please hit enter."

I do so.

"We will start with a drawing game."

I shrug. Whatever, I just want to get this over with.

A white display screen flashes up with a pretty stereotypical picture of the intro of a pc game.

"You are the architect of a city. With every five lines you draw, your partner will also draw five. Hit enter when you are ready."

My eyes grow wide. They are asking a girl who is an architect to plan a city? I smirk and in an uncharacteristic move-I really couldn't resist-I rub my hands together.

It's my time to shine. Whoever my partner is, they are in for a treat.

I hit enter and begin. I start laying down the grid for the streets. When I hit my turn number, I see lines from my partner flashing on the screen.

I'm a little surprised. Okay, so he's doing pretty much what I'd do.

I shrug and continue.

After a few more turns, I realize that this person definitely knows what he's doing. Well, since both of us have some foundation in architecture, why not give him a show eh?

After about twenty minutes, the buildings are planned out in logistically intelligent places and the skyline would be a piece of art, if it was real. Despite the fact that I've only done half the design, this would be my ideal city.

A few turns later, a bubble flashes onto the screen.

"Well done. Please return to your room and await further instructions."

I'm a little sad I couldn't have worked on the city blueprint further but hey, it was a fun game while it lasted. I gather my bearings and see that my partner is getting up too. Our eyes meet for a second and I freeze.

He smiles slightly at me, but those bright blue eyes are what have my attention.

It's impossible, but I know him from somewhere.

It feels like a lifetime ago now, but he looks remarkably like-

"Robert Fischer, please come here," Cobb's voice rings out.

My eyes widen. No.

His brow wrinkles as he turns to find Cobb, perhaps a bit bemused by my lack of response.

But as he walks away only one though races through my head.

_please not him please not him please not him_.

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AN: Review please!


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